Transformation

by Mari Ness

She didn't transform that frog with a kiss --
she actually flung him against a wall.
Nor did they find endless marital bliss
once he became a prince, handsome and tall.
For, after all, neither could quite forget --
she actually flung him against a wall.
Before they were wed, right after they met!
She saw that reflected in his dark eyes.
For, after all, neither could quite forget
He'd once been a frog. He had eaten flies.
He'd slept in the mud, been covered with slime --
She saw that reflected in his dark eyes.
No, it wasn't a kiss, but rather time.
Until he watched her one day as she laughed.
He'd slept in the mud, been covered with slime --
but suddenly knew another witchcraft.
Nor did they find endless marital bliss,
until he watched her one day as she laughed.
She didn't transform that frog with a kiss.

Mari Ness has transformed an overly friendly cat and a shy cat into... an aggressively friendly cat and a shy cat. Her transformation skills may need some work. Her work appears in numerous places, including Fantasy Magazine, Hub Fiction, and Ideomancer. She is less obsessed with fairy tales than her friends believe she is.

When asked what poem the word "cherry" brought to mind, she was forced to admit that the word cherry does not make her think of poems. It makes her think of eating. And chocolate. And chocolate covered cherries. Which led her down a pathway of decidedly unpoetic but decidedly delicious thoughts. Which sounds slightly less morbid than admitting when really pressed, the only poem she could think of with the word cherry was Dorothy Parker's not precisely cheery "Cherry White." After some help from Google, she found Robert Graves' "Cherry-Time," which made her feel better.